For the last year or so I have been working on an acoustic EP. The idea was to record a block of songs that were "performed" with acoustic instruments, not pieced together as a recording cake in the studio. Despite the apparent simplicity this is in fact a very difficult task. I found myself embarking on a marathon task of trying to find the perfect performance since their is no amps, or studio magic to cover up any imperfections. Needless to say I am excited that I have 4 acoustic recordings I will be releasing this summer so keep tuned. To put icing on the cake I brought in a couple friends to make the songs more dynamic. Danny McMahon added beautiful piano to one song and local guitar shredder and Home Sweet Home front man Adam Williams let go of his Les Paul for a nylon string acoustic guitar to add a lovely little flamenco guitar to another piece. I am excited about these songs, they are raw, imperfect, an honest. Keep an eye out, more details to come on an exact release date.
Thank you!
I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who made our show at Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard WA on Mar 23 a success. The turnout was overwhelming and we had a terrific time playing music (despite the struggles I was having with my equipment). Thank you Runaway Symphony for allowing us to play on your bill, it is always an honor. Your music continues to be mind blowing.
We play out much less frequently than in days passed, and I must say, it makes each time more special. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making the effort to trod down to Ballard and pack the place, we had a blast.
Jason
Ballard WA, we are on our way.......
I love playing live! Its so much fun to build setlist, tweek your tones, get in that last practice with the band. For a long time we played live as much as possible. We were tailoring our live set, perfecting it, making it something we could be proud of. Now we play much less frequently, essentially placing quality over quantity. I believe it is paying off and I hope you can join us tomorrow night, Friday 3.23 9pm, Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard WA.
We will be joined by Runaway Symphony and Brian Stai. It is going to be a fantastic evening of music. IN ADDITION, we will be releasing our newest EP, Robot Dance EP. We are super excited about this album. Here is what the Old School Project said about our latest album.
"A light hearted, electric guitar driven, rock collection. It sharply contradict Jason's usual themes of solace and introspection. Troubadour roots be dammed, Jason rocks here and Seattle's indie music community is finally showing signs of coming to life."
We will be showcasing all the songs of this album plus many more. Hope to see you there!
Jason
Robot Dance EP
We release our 5th installment this weekend at Conor Byrne Pub alongside Runaway Symphony and Brian Stai. Its gonna be a great show. Doors open at 8.
It has been a fun show to prepare for. The new songs are all much more uptempo and fun. I have been trying to design our setlist so that it in a perpetual incline, each song raising the energy slightly more than the last. And for the first time in forever, we will be finishing our set with a cover. Alex was insistent that a song by Drake would be the perfect topper, so I conceded, somewhat reluctantly. Needless to say I believe he may be correct. We have put our own flare on one of the proverbial pop stars songs and I think it turned out quite well.
We are excited, and I hope you are too. Detail for the show can be found HERE.
Cheers! Jason
Switching Guitars
Im working on the setlist for May 8 at Royal Room with Runaway Symphony and Being Lucius. (Details can be found here... www.facebook.com/events/1587196571525186/
Setlist are interesting cause you have to thing about the arc of the performance, where you want energy and where you want to bring it down, how the songs link together, etc. But there is another factor for me when I'm designing setlist. Every time I have to switch guitars I introduce variables that increase my likelihood of a major mistake. It goes like this, "ok new guitar, tune, drop D?, drop D two capo Ben Howard tuning?, capo in the right place? new setting on my global pedal, Y switch to amp or PA?, capo in the right place (again for emphasis)?" Doesn't seem like a big deal but silence sucks! Silence between songs seems to go on for ever and ever and ever and get ever more awkward. I already know I am not the greatest showman so I am really trying to put together a smooth professional performance. Its difficult. I figure their are other successful bands where the front guy doesn't jump around like a moron and pretend to be a bigger deal than he is. Arctic Monkeys....that dude is so cool, doesn't jump around like an idiot. As my drummer says..."you should never be more excited than the crowd."
monochrome
Funny how things work out. Approaching the 1 year anniversary of the passing of my wife I was offered the opportunity to stay alone on a house boat for a little stay-cation. I took Howie and a guitar, wrote a song (the first new song in a LONG time). For some reason I knew I had to get it recorded. Called Joe, he cleared the next few days at Orbit for me, and we were at it. 2 days later I had a new single, accompanied video, and an entire concept for a new album. Best part is I had a nice little expression of love to post on my wife's Facebook page commemorating surviving one year without my soul mate. Funny how things work out. All the pieces of the puzzle just fell into place. When ideas, concepts, creativity arise, you have to be ready pounce on them and run. Aggressively capture special moments cause they can be gone before you blink. Check out our new video here. www.jasonseesband.com
Grateful
Tonight Julia (vocals/keys) said an unexpected thing to everyone before she departed after practice tonight. "Thanks for being such a cool band." It struck me. And she's right. We are. Julia plays in several music projects. Actually everybody in Jason Sees Band plays in other projects. We welcome that. And thats the point of this post. This band is different, it seems like everyone else complains about their music projects. Why? Music is so rad. All 6 of us are so happy to be part of what were doing in JSB. I've been very deliberate about creating that environment. There is no expectations, if you can't make practice cause your kid is sick, thats cool. Everyone's part is there own, their place in the band is what they make it. This bands core is love and respect. The interesting thing is that my release of creative control creates an environment where everyone is receptive to others input and place in the music. Their is no ego's, wanna be rock stars, or creative elitists here. Julia is right, this is a cool band. So fun.
Winding Rhodes
Keys all day today at Orbit. It's been really interesting to watch Danny, our piano player, record his parts to these songs. He's an incredibly accomplished pianist. He a piano instructor, well versed in theory, classical and jazz music. He can play stuff that will blow your friggin mind.....but the truth is this music doesn't need that. It needs support, textures, and hooks. All pretty JV kinda stuff for a pianist like Danny. But Danny is a man of humbleness and is more interested in playing what's right for the song, not showcasing his chops. I feel very blessed that he wants to play on this album. He and his wife were close to Zandy, and I think it's a nice thing for him to be able to honor Zandys life through this album.